AUTHORS

Liz Farmer -- Staff Writer. As GOVERNING's finance reporter, Liz covers state and local budgets, pensions and other public-sector fiscal issues. Before joining GOVERNING, Liz wrote for the Washington Examiner, where she covered D.C. city hall politics and local government. She also covered the regional economy and development and has written extensively on the region’s rapidly changing socio-economic structure.

A federal bankruptcy judge dealt a serious blow to California's public employee pension systems by ruling Wednesday that payments for future worker retirements can be reduced when a city declares bankruptcy -- just like its other debts.

Less than a year after the Boston Marathon bombing, in which social media and crowdsourcing proved instrumental to finding the suspects, this year’s Super Bowl security technology pools resources in a way that that uses data to paint the most comprehensive picture yet.

Public pensions were dealt a historic blow Tuesday when a Detroit bankruptcy judge sided with the city in ruling that entitlements could be subject to cuts in municipalities under Chapter 9 protection.

The ruling, which makes San Bernardino the third California city to get bankruptcy protection, could serve as a guide for other cities like Detroit that are in financial distress. Observers also say it's an important test for Chapter 9.

Hit by tornadoes and earthquakes, Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Greensburg, Kan.; and San Francisco all learned how to turn local tragedy into a new and vibrant vision. Their lessons are a playbook for local officials dealing with disasters.

Low-income people need more than a steady paycheck to achieve financial stability. They also need help gaining access to traditional banking and credit services -- something 28 percent of Americans lack.

Most states and many municipalities have passed some kind of pension reform in recent years, but only a few did so in a way that addresses the immediate unfunded liability of their plans. Plus: Has pension reform gone too far?

Congressional lawmakers are skeptical of some specialty tax-free bonds but largely spoke in support of maintaining the tax-exempt status of the municipal bonds localities and states issue to fund infrastructure projects.

A major ratings agency cast doubt over New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s proposed 2014 budget this week, saying that the Republican’s forecasts were too ambitious and relied on “new and untested revenues” to balance the ledger.

Public pension managers are gearing up for another battle against what they say would be costly -- and unnecessary -- accounting disclosure requirements being floated on Capitol Hill even as new disclosure rules take effect this summer.

Total borrowing costs for cities, counties and states could increase by more than 50 percent if the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds is repealed as part of the ongoing budget talks on Capitol Hill, a new report has found.

President Barack Obama is urging Congress to postpone the Mar. 1 sequestration through a combination of spending cuts and closing tax loopholes, rather than risk the automatic 10 percent budget cuts that are scheduled to go into effect next month if no action is taken.

While many eyes in the political world are watching Mar. 1, the deadline for sequestration’s automatic, across-the-board cuts of about 10 percent, another deadline later in the month may trigger more fireworks on Capitol Hill.

The lawsuits, which are the first against a credit ratings agency in connection with the economic meltdown, were a coordinated effort between states and feds who have historically clashed over who fights financial fraud.

The national economy will see some improvement in the coming years but the back half of the decade will be characterized by a looming debt burden and growing federal deficit under current economic policy, a new outlook report from the Congressional Budget Office says.

The District of Columbia announced a $417 million surplus for its 2012 fiscal year, the highest surplus in recent memory and setting up an immediate fight between leaders on saving versus spending the money.

The nation’s top business advocate said Thursday it was time for the federal government to “quit fooling around” with funding the transportation trust that fuels many state and local infrastructure projects and called for an increase in the gas tax.

Six months after Georgia enacted a law meant to attract more startups by allowing the state’s pension plans to invest in them, few plans have actually taken advantage, according to an Atlanta Journal Constitution report.

A coalition representing state and local governments is urging the president and the Speaker of the House to keep the federal government income tax exclusion for municipal bond interest as leaders negotiate an alternative to the upcoming fiscal cliff cuts and tax hikes schedule to kick in next month.

Moodys has downgraded the credit rating of one New Jersey town as a result of damages caused by Hurricane Sandy and made negative revisions to nine other public finance debt issuers, primarily along the New Jersey Shore and the South Shore of Long Island.

Insurers holding $161 million of Stockton, Calif.’s debt and who want for the city’s case thrown out of court said this week the city didn’t pursue cost-cutting measures before filing for bankruptcy protection, according to a report by the Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review.

California and New York are considering heavier oversight of their financially troubled cities, according to a Stateline report.
Bill Lockyer, California’s state treasurer, wants to create a system that would monitor local finances and issue a warning to flag cities and counties when their fiscal situation becomes troubled. New York’s comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, wants to score cities based on their financial strain, according to Stateline.

After a record year for the Massachusetts Lottery, a state task force has called online gaming “inevitable” and is recommending the agency take steps toward offering it to consumers. The report, issued Thursday, notes that if the lottery doesn’t enter the online marketplace, other entrants – such as casinos, commercial gaming companies, and other states – will likely fill the void to the detriment of the lottery and the revenue it generates.

As New York, New Jersey and other areas along the northeast coastline continue to repair and rebuild after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy five weeks ago, federal disaster officials defended the process by which localities receive financial aid while acknowledging room still exists for improvement.

More than a month after Hurricane Sandy, the Northeast transit corridor is still in need of massive repairs and transit officials are urging federal authorities to provide enough funding to not just restore the system but to upgrade its safeguards and better prepare against future storms.